A lot of things have happened since ArtBabble was born (launched) in April of 2009. I can’t believe it has been close to 2 years! There are two main things that have improved drastically since we launched: content and technology. To the future…

I decided to keep this volley a bit less cluttered than my “space pirates” version. I had made some vector bug outlines a long time ago and this seemed like a good time to use one. I used ants silhouettes to style the word “nature”. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Praying Mantis. I changed the mood by making it much darker. It’s starting to look like a scary/sci-fi movie poster to me now. Stay tuned for @jmscottimd’s final volley in this round coming soon.

As with all of the work in the 100 Acres Exhibit I was instantly intrigued by this sculpture turned seating. I have a personal belief that art is at its best when a piece’s form and its functionality find harmony, so it’s only right to give credit where it’s due. My concept was to turn the provided photo into a promotional piece for the artist who created “Bench Around the Lake”. I’m anxious to see where the other designers take this.

Well, we got off to a late start but all of the volleys are in! If you remember, I originally posted about design collaboration and summed the way Layers Tennis works. I got some interest from local designers on twitter and we announced the battle in a follow up post here.

So now that you are caught up… I present you with the first 4 design volleys.

As soon as I saw this photo it took me back to the days of playing Let's Pretend, with my younger brother. With a little creativity we always managed to transport ourselves to places where adventure could be found. Looking back on those experiences it was obvious that I needed to illustrate a landscape that could have been fashioned from nothing more than our own imaginations. I had to restrain from overworking this piece, though. I wanted to leave it fairly open so the other designers could add elements from their own memory banks. I'm really hoping to see some pirate ships moving over the horizon or perhaps an octopus tentacle reaching up from out of the water.

When Nathan told me that his first volley was going to be floating water and a concept of imagination my thought process went immediately to pirates. I love doodling and when those doodles fit into a design concept, it's blast. And isn't that what Creativity and Imagination are all about!?

When I saw pirates, I knew they would be part of what I wanted to do but wanted to continue to push the imagination theme. So finally it hit me, Space Pirates! I love doodling too so I added a few minor doodles and also flipped the colors.

Looking at all the volleys i knew there was nothing more illustrative that I could add. I really wanted to find a way to bring the girls into the action. With the pirates and the space pirates closing in I thought it was time for the girls to catch a ride to their next adventure. That quote about imagination is by Jules de Gautier.